Tom Hiddleston agrees to Hank Williams biopic

The trend for musical biopics continues as Thor and Wallander actor Tom Hiddleston signs up to play country & western musician Hank Williams in I Saw the Light.

Directed by Marc Abraham, whose production credits include Spy Game and Children of Men, the film will see Hiddleston work off Abraham’s script, which itself is based on Colin Escott’s 1994 biography.

Hiddleston will not only portray Williams but act as vocalist during the movie’s musical performances.

Williams, a prolific songwriter and accomplished singer, died in 1953 at 29 years of age but was undisputed in his stature as a giant of the C&W genre and a major influence over its subsequent development.

The film will be Abraham’s second stint as director, after 2008’s Flash of Genius, which followed the fortunes of Robert Kearns, inventor of the windshield wiper.

I Saw the Light joins a growing cluster of upcoming musical biopics that includes the James Brown portrait Get On Up, Frankie Valli movie Jersey Boys and Nina Simone history Nina, while Don Cheadle raises funds on Indiegogo for jazz odyssey Miles Ahead. – AFP Relaxnews